Two DC

For folks in the DC area, I'd like to give a shout-out for a new addition on my blog roll.

Two DC is written by a young married couple from southern California who recently moved to DC and started a blog to document their adventures around town.

I love the "Two" theme they've creatively woven into their blog. For example, you'll notice on the top right side of their blog they have links for "Food for Two," "Fun for Two," and "Life as Two." Below that you'll also see their "Two Do List" with places they want to visit (or revisit) in the future.

If you scroll back through their blog, you'll see a majority of their recent posts are about food and restaurants. I must admit that am envious that they are able to take photos of each course of their meal. Whenever we go to some new and interesting restaurant, I am always tempted to take pictures of the food to post on my blog, but it embarrasses my wife and kids, so I don't do it very often. :-)

In addition to their great posts about food and restaurants, they also have great reviews of attractions and things to do in the area, too. You can find most of those non-food-related posts by clicking on the "Fun for Two" link.

From reading through their blog, I feel like we have a bit in common - a rather obvious appreciation for food plus an affinity to getting out of the house and exploring the local trails and historic sites on foot or bike or paddle. Like me, it doesn't sound like they're experts in any of those categories, just looking to get out and have some fun, and they enjoy sharing their experiences with others via the blogosphere. For example, they did the Jack's Boathouse kayaking tour on the Potomac just a week before we did in August.

Aside from the fact that they are local, they are both very talented and creative writers. You'll note that both B and J write in every post. One of them will start and then somewhere in the middle of the post, they'll switch seats and the other one will offer counter-points or additional insights. It doesn't matter what they are writing about, I enjoy reading it just for the style of their writing and the funny quips contained therein. Going back to the same example as the previous paragraph, their write-up of their trip with Jack's Boathouse was fabulous, especially B's last paragraph about what they saw on Roosevelt Island (the last paragraph before turning over the keyboard to J - I don't want to spoil it here, so go read it.)

In addition to the talent of their writing, there's a certain aspect of their blog that's very different from many blogs I have read, and I have a hard time trying to name or clearly identify what it is that's different. Call it personal-yet-private if you will. They share beautiful photos of the places they've gone and details of their lives and experiences, yet don't reveal their true identity. They're not like postcard photos that anybody could have taken, they're somehow personal yet lack specifics. For example, the distant photo looking up the aisle at their wedding so you can see two people getting married, but not who they are or what they look like. Not that it matters what they look like. It just fascinates me how they craft their posts as if it could have been your best friends who went on that adventure and posted those pictures to their Facebook account. I suppose their photos and the way they tell their story make it so you can easily imagine yourself in their shoes.

If you have the time, I recommend clicking on the "Life as Two" link and scroll back to their engagement, wedding and honeymoon blog posts. I enjoyed B's commentary on the male perspective of wedding planning. I'm actually still working on catching up reading this section of their blog, but there are some real gems of new-to-DC wisdom in there.

To B & J - Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. You're doing a great job. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to continuing to compare notes with you about things to do in the DC area.